Opposition MPs have raised questions about Education Minister Jan Tinetti's competence for her role, saying she escaped serious sanctions due to ignorance of her responsibilities.
Earlier today the Privileges Committee - a panel of senior MPs which focuses on the rights and freedoms of members of parliament - released its decision on whether Tinetti had deliberately misled Parliament when she failed to immediately correct an incorrect statement she made in the debating chamber.
It found she was not guilty, saying her actions arose from "a high degree of negligence" rather than intent, and asked her to apologise to Parliament.
She made the statement in February and did not correct it until May, and told the committee she had not checked the record of the session to make sure she was correct.
She had said she was not responsible for the timing of the release of school attendance data, but was told by staff later the same day her statement was incorrect.
This afternoon Shadow Leader of the House - National's Michael Woodhouse - said it took him a long time to get his "head around" her testimony to the Committee.
"I could scarcely believe that anybody could be that ignorant of her obligations."
He said it took some time for the Committee - of which he is part - to reach a consensus on her testimony.
"Parliament matters. We are considered to have a privilege in this place to speak our minds, but that comes with an incumbent responsibility to be honest in our dealings and where we realise we've made a mistake, to fix that. Minister Tinetti didn't know that she had to do that, and that's extraordinary."
He said he believed Tinetti had learned from it but it was a "harsh lesson for her to learn" because her reputation had been "severely damaged".
"More broadly than that, I really fear for the future of our young if this is the standard of the Minister of Education and her ministry."
Later, in a statement, Woodhouse said serious questions needed to be asked about Tinetti's competence as Education Minister.
“This is one of Labour’s most senior ministers, but her inability to understand and follow basic rules begs the question of whether she is fit for the role."
ACT education spokesman Chris Baillie said Tinetti had "effectively" been found not guilty "because she had no idea what she was doing".
"She apparently didn’t know her own office was meddling in the release of vital attendance figures, trying to line them up with an announcement by the Prime Minister’s Office.
“Tinetti’s defence boils down to ‘I thought it was ok to mislead Parliament because I didn’t know what was going on.’
“While being incompetent may have saved the Education Minister from misleading parliament, it won’t save the 800,000 or so citizens who rely on the education system for their future.
Asked about the Committee's findings, Tinetti said she accepted the report and would apologise to the House.
Asked for further comment, she said: "I will apologise to the House, having seen the report, that is all I am going to say at this stage, thank you".
Woodhouse apologised earlier this month for saying "good girl" to Tinetti in the hearing regarding the matter.
About a minute into her prepared remarks, Tinetti was interrupted by the committee's chairperson, David Parker, who asked her to speak up.
Tinetti - a former principal - agreed and said, "I'll use my teacher voice".
Woodhouse replied "good girl".
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